Angle calculator for structural members



March 30, 1948. J. T. HOGUE ANGLE CALCULATOR FOR STRUCTURAL MEMBERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 12, 1945 w A Y M March 30, 1948.

J. T. HOGUE ANGLE CALCULATOR FOR STRUCTURAL MEMBERS Filed Oct. 12, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I H v f 1| h Z9/ 20 22, a g

INVENTOR. z/iwes T170605.

BY I M iatenteci Mar. 30, 148

ANGLE SimmoT'm L MEMBE James T}; fiogtie; sen Francisco-w ns;

deci'ia' 6f diirt t My '5 Application jctober 12, 1943; 'Siial No. 566,061

J 9 Claims. 1

The pi se'fit invention relates to improvements in an afile alculatbf fOi striitiiifii-fiimfifs'and it consists of the combiri'altib'ns, onsti'iictidn' nd arrangements hereinafter decfibd "ind claimed. An object of my invention is to 'piovide afienle calculator for stmcturm nieriibeis which has novel means foi dte'rihi'riix'ig' the length of a structural member afrd the angle at Whih' the e rids inust be out in order that the membe 'win fit proper'ly into its designatedfpiace. The' device in its' simplestate will eirible a, skilled er unskilled carpenter to measure cut jalck rafters, octagonal rafters, etc., biees -f'r6in iiliines with even or uneven degrees of faitch so often e countered in tunnel construetin, paie and l j ber bridge -con'structioh, shoriiis in 's ip cohstr'uction, temiiot'aiy repair braces, etc. 'By 9. simple additional member the device isvieadily' eppli cable toi ound timbi'svorpipe. For example; in the building of ships, it is necessary that construetioiial stanchions o1 othef subboitiii'g/stiucture be placed between decks and platforms and extend at certain angles. It is difficult to cut the ends oi a, supporting member so thatitwill extend at the proper angle and also make the supporting member the required length-because the sheet of vdecks and platfofms fore and aft and pitches port and. star oara aie not vconstant but variable in contrast with 1am structures which usually have level bases or floors and Vertical wallspr partitions. 7

With my device, novel-meansiis used for determining the angle at which the ants -of .the'supporting member ust be out. The device is placed in the position where the suppoistih g'in'ihber must be placed. in order todet'errifi-ne the length of the member and the ngle. of the cut ends, and thn the device iS slipped bvlbf'aibiihd .the mateiial from which the Suppbitihg Iiieiiibr is to be cut. The devicedeterinineswhere the lines are to be drawn on the subboi'tihg member so that cuts made'aljong these lines'will provide the subbbrtihg member With "ends that extend atthe required angles and proper iength.

A further object of 'my invention isjto provide a device of the type described which is simple in construction and Which'is adjustebleior 'aocommod'ating suppo ting members of .Hi'fle ent sizes and. contours. The 'de'vice'is collapsible into a. compact unit for transporting. q

Other objects and advant'ageswill appear in the iollowing specification, andfth'e novel features of the device will be particularly'poihted out in the appended claims.

m ei awifig for ing a pa t-of this-app icati n, in which:

, n 1 is afside' elevatien oi the'device showing it opeietivly" appli d betWntWdpiexieS;

' Figure? 2 is'E-e' p1fiii View of oiie of the "fiames us dfirfi the device Figiii'e 3 186 section-along" :the "line 3 3 0f Figuie'2;" v V Figure 4 is a sectional ti e Itaken substantially al ng thel i i-h F fi t Fi'gufe "511$ '91 peispecciveviewe: a; fence used with the device;

' edjusitab'ieior Figure-"z is newsh wingthe fence Of-F Eure 5 used with the device and I While I have shown only thebljeferred :forms of iny 'iniientibii, it enema-te \mdeistood that -1 1 s a ea e. 91 "l fl fiiiw I m b a depa tingrromthestimafid pe bf the invenman.

in ea'rrying ue-m invention IfbrOYidet-wo rigid '1 enm clm in c nstrution nd't ererore 9; de-

scription 'oiffraifiefl win supine. The adjustable frame is gn wn immune 2; aha; @mpri'ses ltwo has ie'gs Fand-Tthet'ektenci wright-eagles to "inlik' manner the arm D rias'i achfothei" 'afi'd erefcrit fel'iyfslott a at *3 and 4.

T e we aims are adiustabi 'hemtogether by lock own in Figures 2; and s: The lock 6 nuke as its; legs? IS a "head --ro restated the le's -51 the-clamp are he slet 4* While the t The other lock in the-slot 1 legs andre end oth pair of leg 5 B riding in h "Figure "skews-melee 20f thefarm My invention is illustrated in the accoxfi'panw "8H3 eaweeam mweemne eime F eiidWhe -ieg '6 3 of the arm D. The two legs 2 and 6 are adjustably secured together by a nut I! that is threaded upon the cylindrical portion 9 and clamps the pair of legs together.

The frames A and B are adjustably connected together by extension members indicated generally at G in Figure 1. One or more pair of extension members may be used and .;I have shown two in the present form of the device. Each pair consists of a bar l8 and a bar I9. The bar l8 has its end provided with an integral guide 20 that slidably receives the bar l9. A clamping sleeve 2| carries a set screw 22 by means of which the two bars are adjustably secured together, see Figure 4. The bar I 8 is secured to the frame A by bolts 23 passed through alug 24 that is interal with the arm C. The bar I9 is secured to the frame B in like manner.

I Each frame carries four measuring screws 1-1.. Two of these screws are passed through threaded bores 25 formed in the cylindrical portions 9, see Figure 3 and the other two screwsare passed through threaded bores 26 formed at thelcorners of the arms C and D. The thickness of the arms adjacent to the threaded openings 26 is increased by projections 21 that are. integral with the arms.

From the foregoing description of thevarious parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

In Figure 1, I indicate two spaced surfaces 28 and 29. (which may be th'e'decks of aship) that are to receive a stanchion or asupport that is to be inclined at the angle indicated by the broken lines 30. The line 30 indicates the center line of the support. The problem is to measure the length of the portion of the line 30 extending between the two planes 28 and 29 and to deterthe center line 30. If the member is made of metal and the surfaces 28 and 29 are also of metal as in ship construction, the member may be welded in place.

Should the supporting member be circular rather than rectangular in cross section, a circular fence or scribing ring indicated at K in Figure 6, is used. The fence is in the shape of a ring -I- and has its inner periphery madeslightly larger mine the angle these planes make with respect to the center line 30.

The device is placed between the surfaces 23 and 29; as indicatd in Figure 1 and the two frames A and B are moved away from each other until the frame A is placed close to the surface 28 and the frame B is placed close to the surface 29. The set screws'22 are now locked in position to hold the frames against collapsing. The two frames A and B are now centered with respect to the line 30 and the measuring screws H are rotated by means of their heads 31, see Figure 3, so that the screws will have their pointed ends 32 contact with the surfaces 28 and '29. It will be seen from this that the pointed ends-32 of the screws H on the frame A will define a plane coinciding with the surface 28 and in like manner the screws H carried by the frame B will have their pointed ends 32 define a plane coinciding with the surface 29.

The device is now removed from the position shown in Figure 1 and is telescoped over the member J, see Figure 5, that is to. constitute the support or stanchion. The frames A and-B have been made large enough to telescope over the member J. The member J is longer-than that required and the pointed ends -32 of the screws H will bepositioned at. the corners 33 of; the

7 member so that lines drawn on the member and extending between the pointed ends will determine the angle of the cut that must be made in the member. Both ends of the member are cut at angles determined by the measuring screws and in this simple way the length of the member and the proper angles of the member ends are accurately determined- After the member has b en 21 i c n e pl ed b we the-su .28 andtt e that it e ie 119 .$Pond w h in diameter than the outer diameter of the supporting member to be cut. The fence has diametrically opposed recesses 35 for receiving two of the .pointed ends 32 of the measuring screws H. Slotted arms 36 are placed 90 away from the recesses 35 and receive the other two screw ends. The fence K can rock on the two screw ends that are received in the recesses 35 until the other two screwv ends'are both received in the slotted arms 36. The fence K will now extend at the proper angle with respect to the support and the portion of the support that extend through the fence can be marked, using the fence ring as a guide. When the support is out along the marked line, the cut end will extend at the proper angle. 7

In case it is desired to have one support contact another suPDOrt M of the same cross-sectional measurement (see Figure 7) rather than engage with a surface, I provide two elongated rod-like fences' L, shown in Figure 5. The measuring screws H instead of contacting withthe surface 28 for example, will be received in a recess 31 in the rod L and ina slot 38 in the same rod. The pointed ends 32 extend entirely through the diameter of the rod so that when the rod or fence contacts with the member M against which the support is to rest, the rod will. determine one cutting line on the member which is to be cut. In actual practice two rods L are used ,at each end of the device and each pair of rods determine the angle of the plane at which the cut end must extend with respect to the axis of the support. I

In Figure 7, Ishow the device placed between a support M and a girder N. The pairs of screws H have the fences L contacting the support and girder. The line 30 indicates the center line of the member J that will be placed in positionbetween the support and girder. After the screws H have been adjusted to bring the fence L into contact with the support and girder, the device is removed and slipped over the member'J as'shown in Figure 8. Lines 39 and 40 are drawn. on the member between the fences L as shown and these lines will indicate the angle of cut to make on the member J.

The device enables anyone to lay out, measure and cut rafters, braces, constructional stanchions, etc.', from the simple type to the most complicated without the use of'the ruleor the steel square.

32. These extensions will be long enough to ex- I tend through the openings 35 in the ring K. The

extensions 32a will be loosely received in the openings 35. so that the ring. K may pivot on the needle points into the desired angular position. b

It is possible to use the frame A by itself and in this case additional lock nuts E may be spaced along any of the slots 3, 4, l and 8 and the measuring screws H carried by the auxiliary lock nuts be adjusted independently of each other to contact with a curved surface instead of a flat one. By using auxiliary measuring screws H and their lock nuts E, it is possible to adapt the device to measure the surface of a plane having an irregular top.

'I claim:

1. An angle calculator comprising a pair of adjustable rectangular frames, adjustable extensions connecting the two frames together, said frames having central openings for receiving a structural member that is to be marked for cutting, and measuring screws placed at the corners of the frames and adapted to be adjusted to contact with surfaces against which the ends of the structural member are to abut, the ends of said screws indicating on the structural member when the member is received in the frames, the place for cutting the member and the angle of cut.

2. An angle calculator comprising a pair of ad justable rectangular frames, each consisting of two angle-shaped members, adjustable means for securing the members together in adjusted position for providing a rectangular opening of the desired size, adjustable extensions connecting the two frames together, said rectangular openings being adapted to receive a structural member that is to be marked for cutting, and measuring screws placed at the corners of the frames and adapted to be adjusted to contact with surfaces against which the ends of the structural member are to abut, the ends of said screws indicating on the structural member when the member is received in the frames, the place for cutting the member and the angle of cut.

3. In an angle calculator, an adjustable rectangular frame comprising two angle-shaped members, each having slotted leg-s extending at right angles to each other, bolts connecting the legs together and being adjustable to vary the size of the opening formed by the members, measuring screws received in threaded bores provided in the bolts, and additional measuring screws received in the corner of each angle memher.

4. An angle calculator comprising a pair of adjustable rectangular frames, lugs placed at opposite corners of the frames, adjustable extensions connected to the lugs for adjustably connecting the two frames together as a unit so that the frames can receive a structural member that is long enough to project beyond both frames, and measuring screws placed at the corners of the frames and adapted to be adjusted to contact with surfaces against which the ends of the cut structural member are to abut.

5. In an angle calculator for structural members, a rectangular adjustable frame having a central opening adapted to receive the structural member that is to have an end marked for cutting, measurin screws placed at the corners of the frame and having pointed ends and a fence consisting of a rod with a transverse opening at one end for receiving the pointed end of one of the measuring screws and having a longitudinally extending slot at the other end for receiving the pointed end of an adjacent screw.

6. In an angle calculator for structural members, a rectangular adjustable frame having slots in its four sides, measuring screws placed at two opposite corners of the frame, and two auxiliary measuring screws adjustably mounted in the slots.

7. In an angle calculator for structural members, a rectangular adjustable frame, measuring screws placed at the corners of the frame and having pointed ends with needle-like extensions, the axes of the screws extending at right angles to the plane of the frame,

8. An angle calculator comprising a pair of frames adapted to encircle at least a portion of a structural member at two spaced points along the length of the member, at least one extension connecting the two frames together so that spaced frames will extend transversely with respect to the structural member, and measuring screws carried by the frames and extending in the direction of the length of the member, the ends of said screws indicating on the structural member the places for cutting the member and the angles of the cut.

9. An angle calculator comprising a pair of frames adapted to encircle at least a portion of a structural member at two spaced points along the length of the members, at least one extension connecting the two frames together so that the spaced frames will extend transversely with respect to the structural member, measuring screws carried by the frames and extending in the direction of the length of the member, and a fence interconnecting the outer ends of certain of the screws in each frame and constituting a guide rule for a marking instrument that may mark the member received in the frames to indicate the place for cutting the member and the angle of cut.

JAMES T. HOGUE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 250,835 Osenburg Dec. 13, 1881 776,713 Wurts Dec. 6, 1904 941,297 Barthelimes Nov. 23, 1909 1,135,089 Wilks l Apr. 13, 1915 2,334,385 Cooper Nov. 16, 1943 

